North­eastern University’s Latino/​a Stu­dent Cul­tural Center will host the 2008 New Eng­land Latino Stu­dent Lead­er­ship Con­fer­ence. From March 28–29, stu­dents, fac­ulty, staff and admin­is­tra­tors from the New Eng­land region will gather together to dis­cuss the empow­er­ment of Latino leaders of tomorrow in an increas­ingly global environment.

“The con­fer­ence is an oppor­tu­nity to net­work and ini­tiate life­long con­nec­tions amongst some of the most tal­ented and inspired stu­dent leaders in the North­east,” said Rosa Rodriguez Williams, Director of the North­eastern Uni­ver­sity Latino/​a Stu­dent Cul­tural Center. “We will be hearing from some of the most accom­plished speakers in the dis­ci­pline of lead­er­ship which will pro­vide atten­dees with a high-​​energy and inspi­ra­tional weekend.”

The ple­nary lec­ture will be given by Alan West-​​Duran, Asso­ciate Pro­fessor of Modern Lan­guages at North­eastern Uni­ver­sity. Titled, “Latinos/​as as Global Cit­i­zens: Resisting Empire by Cre­ating a World without Super­powers,” West-​​Duran will inspire stu­dents to take on greater roles of leadership.

Work­shop ses­sions and panel dis­cus­sions will show­case prac­tical and pro­gres­sive approaches to the devel­op­ment of lead­er­ship. The con­fer­ence will fea­ture over 20 inter­ac­tive work­shops enabling par­tic­i­pants to explore inno­v­a­tive con­cepts, ideas and projects. Topics will explore all aspects of Latinos in higher edu­ca­tion including stu­dent orga­ni­za­tions, lead­er­ship, global capacity building, social activism and com­mu­nity engage­ment, and life after college.

The two-​​day event will fea­ture pre­sen­ta­tions and panel dis­cus­sions including:

Hispanic Activism: Why other Immigrant Groups Must Not Forget

Effective Communication: Getting Investment and Buy in a Culture of Change

Graduate Education & Social Activism: Careers in Community Development

Media and the Arts: Engaging the Community and Sparking Social Activism

Changing Demographics, Changing Leadership: What the Growing Latino Population Means for American Racial Politics

Latino Health Issues: Food, Health, Culture and Lifestyles

2008 also marks the 10 year anniver­sary of Northeastern’s Latino/​a Stu­dent Cul­tural Center. In 1998, a group of visionary Latino/​a stu­dents, fac­ulty, staff and admin­is­tra­tors with a dream of cre­ating a Center in which people could come together and share their aca­d­emic strug­gles and achieve­ments, as well as their cul­ture, estab­lished what is now known as the Latino/​a Stu­dent Cul­tural Center.

For the past decade, the center has pro­moted Latino cul­ture and explored Latino iden­tity and self-​​awareness within the North­eastern com­mu­nity through inte­grating existing orga­ni­za­tions and ser­vices that offer Latino/​a, Latin Amer­ican, and Caribbean ori­ented pro­grams and activities.

Founded in 1898, North­eastern Uni­ver­sity is a pri­vate research uni­ver­sity located in the heart of Boston. North­eastern is a leader in inter­dis­ci­pli­nary research, urban engage­ment, and the inte­gra­tion of class­room learning with real-​​world expe­ri­ence. The university’s dis­tinc­tive coop­er­a­tive edu­ca­tion pro­gram, where stu­dents alter­nate semes­ters of full-​​time study with semes­ters of paid work in fields rel­e­vant to their pro­fes­sional inter­ests and major, is one of the largest and most inno­v­a­tive in the world. The Uni­ver­sity offers a com­pre­hen­sive range of under­grad­uate and grad­uate pro­grams leading to degrees through the doc­torate in six under­grad­uate col­leges, eight grad­uate schools, and two part-​​time divi­sions. For more infor­ma­tion, please visit www​.north​eastern​.edu.

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